A gang of burka-wearing raiders who staged a fake heist at a Phones 4u shop to grab nearly £25,000 worth of handsets were spared jail by a judge who wanted to ‘encourage the good’ in them.

Rheo Lawrence, Francis Monverville, both 25, and Ruben Vemba, 27, burst into the mobile phone chain’s Palmers Green branch, in north London, dressed as Muslim women before ransacking the shop.

Still wearing the black garments, the trio ran off with 75 brand new phones worth £23,598.

They jumped into a silver Vauxhall Astra and police became suspicious when Phones 4u employee Eliot Ramsay, 27, claimed he had spotted them leaving in a VW Polo.

An investigation revealed Ramsay had been in phone contact with the burka bandits and in one message told them: ‘Make it happen lads.’

Spared jail: Francis Monverville (Image: Central News)

Prosecutor Mark Kinsey said: ‘This was an organised and commercial theft of the premises where Mr Ramsay was working.

‘Mr Ramsay arranged the vehicle, communicated with all of the other defendants before, during and after the incident took place by mobile phone and the goods were disposed of by Mr Ramsay with the assistance of another individual.’

Prosecutors accepted Ramsay had been put up to organising the theft by his manager, Emma Millward, who is on the run.

Ramsay and Monverville both have previous convictions, Lawrence has been convicted in the youth court and Vemba has been handed a reprimand.

But the judge, Mr Recorder Ian Glen QC said he wanted to nurture their virtues.

Gang member: Ruben Vemba (Image: Central News)

He sentenced each of the men to 18 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and ordered them to carry out 200 hours’ unpaid work.

‘This case has been turned on its head by the acceptance that the controlling mind behind this case was Ms Millward and that means you were presented with a temptation to commit a ready-made, easy crime and you failed to resist that temptation.

‘But I have been struck by the fact that in each of your cases your lives are yet to be lived and I think the court should be encouraging the good in you.’

The court heard Ramsay had been working with Millward in the Phones 4u shop in Green Lane, Palmers Green, in Enfield, north London on the afternoon of 15 October 2013.

‘They became aware that three people had entered into the store via the main door. All three were wearing dark burka-type clothing,’ said the prosecutor.

‘Millward said she originally thought they were Muslim females, but it became clear they were wearing workman-type gloves and she became suspicious.’

The tallest of the three men went to the back of the shop were he attempted to enter the security code to the stockroom.

But he was unsuccessful and Millward had to enter the code.

‘The shop was ransacked. 75 brand new handsets were stolen to the value of £23,598,’ Mr Kinsey said.